Mining wastes of the Russian North-West: microbiological prerequisites of reclamation

Abstract

Russian North-West is the region with extremely high diversity of superficial mining wastes, deposited in form heaps and hills. These substrata are potentially dangerous for environments and. therefore, should be reclaimed. One of the most effective way of utilization of mineral wastes is to incorporate them to natural processes of revegetation and to initialize the priming of initial soil formation process. Thus, we have investigated microbial processes in very initial superficial ecosystems of numerous heaps of pre quaternary materials of former abandoned and recently explored quarries. The research question of this study: what groups of microorganisms we do have on the surface of mining mineral wastes and are we able to qualify their role in further recycling of mineral waste to natural processes, including pedogenesis and ecogenesis of terrestrial ecosystems. The great variation of taxonomy composition of microbiome composition was revealed. At the same time, some phylums of microorganisms were dominant in all revegetated heaps investigated - Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Chloroflexia, Verrucomicrobia. They could be considered as a core components of very initial soil microbiome. Primary data have showed the increasing of microbial biodiversity with timing rate of waste exposure on surface.